BNP Paribas Upgrades Graco (NYSE:GGG) to Outperform

Graco (NYSE:GGG) was upgraded by investment analysts at BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports. The brokerage currently has a $105.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective points to a potential upside of 25.87% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.40.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $83.42 on Thursday. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.22 and a 200-day moving average of $83.65. The company has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Graco will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.